With global events reaching a boiling point, I've been thinking quite a lot about what makes a hero or heroine. Because it's an historical fiction blog, that's what I'm focussing on, but I'm pretty sure these thoughts can pass over onto other genres too. The first thing is that the hero/ine does not have to be the main character. Tolkien said that Samwise Gamgee was the real hero of The Lord of the Rings (which can hardly come as a shock to anyone who has read it) but he was not the main - or even the second - character. If you are writing with an ensemble cast, this is a more obvious distinction. Chances are, if you have only one major character, they are also going to be the hero/ine. Next, consider that a hero/ine does not have to be right the whole time. The important thing about their decisions is twofold: They always do what they believe to be best for other people They always work (and hopefully achieve!) to put right any harm their choices have made These t...
For NaNoWriMo last year, I wrote a book called The Stonemason's Crown . This was in part inspired by a discovery I made whilst poring over a map. It was not an old map, but a map of old things using LiDAR technology. For Christmas, my sister got me a copy of that map, printed on metal and zoomed in on the very spot where my story was set. Maps give an amazing insight. Not only do they point out landmarks which are sometimes long gone and forgotten, they also show how people reacted with - and believed in - the world where they lived. Where would our imaginations be without etched sea serpents, or "Here Be Dragons" on the edges of these documents? Time was I would only read books which had a map in them. I've got a little bit more accepting now, but I still get a real buzz as a reader to find a beautiful map tucked into the opening pages of a book. My dad loves maps. Consequently, I have always found them fascinating. He has quite a collection, some which are hundreds...